Featured Freeware: GreenPrint World

GreenPrint World is a free Windows utility that helps eliminate wasted pages while printing. Installation takes some time since it requires Visual C++ 2005, which is included if necessary. GreenPrint will also put four new programs into your Windows start-up menu, add a browser helper object for Internet Explorer, and add three printers (GreenPrint PDF, GreenPrint MailPDF, and GreenPrint). During installation, GreenPrint will ask you to select a default printer, but the printer can be easily changed later from the GreenPrint interface.

After installation, you can print from any application to GreenPrint, which will automatically remove pages from your printout based on rules like "completely blank pages," "pages with an image only," or "Pages 95 percent blank with less than five lines of text," and then pass along your document to your printer with the unnecessary pages removed. Double-clicking on any page removes it from the print job; double-clicking adds the page back.

The app keeps a running tally of ink and paper saved and greenhouse gas emissions reduced through regular use. It also lets you create PDF files or e-mail PDFs directly with the printer's GreenPrint PDF and GreenPrint MailPDF, respectively.

GreenPrint World is a bit buggy when printing from Excel, but no other major bugs reared their heads. The latest version adds recommendations for buying green products in nine categories, such as paper, ink, software, and technology recycling.